2000 · Arcade racing · NASCAR

NASCAR Arcade

NASCAR Arcade is a stock car racing game and the first NASCAR game to be made for the arcades. It's officially licensed through Electronic Arts (who had the license at the time) and is based on the 1999 Winston Cup series. There are three different race tracks to choose from each with a different difficulty level: Talladega Superspeedway, Richmond International Raceway and Watkins Glen International. A secret Team SEGA track exist too but it's not made available until 700 races have been made on the machine.

Released: 1 November 2000
Platforms: Arcade
Genres: Arcade racing NASCAR Racing
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Country: Japan
Composers: Jun Senoue

About

NASCAR Arcade, initially known as NASCAR Rubbin' Racing outside North America, is a 2000 racing video game developed by Sega Rosso and published by Sega for arcades. It was produced at the suggestion of producer Kenji Arai, and the soundtrack was produced by Jun Senoue. The game is based on the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, and carries an official NASCAR license with permission from EA Sports, who permitted Sega to develop the game as a arcade-only title.

The game was released in both standard and deluxe arcade cabinets, and up to eight cabinets can be linked for multiplayer. Players have to race against competition at one of four tracks while also racing against a timer. Previews and reviews of the game praised the realistic graphics and smoothness, but had criticisms of the game's gear shifter and comparison to other Sega games.

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

NASCAR Arcade is a racing game based on the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Four tracks are available to select from: Talladega Superspeedway, Richmond International Raceway, and Watkins Glen International, as well as a "Team SEGA" secret track. Each track represents a different level of difficulty. The goal of the game is to advance through the field of rival race cars, while racing against a timer.

Reaching a goal before the timer reaches zero resets the timer and extends the play. There are Race and Time Attack modes in single-player, as well as a multiplayer mode where up to eight arcade cabinets can be linked. The game's arcade cabinet seat will move when hitting an opponent or being hit, and the game's deluxe cabinet includes a tubular roll cage. Secret codes via gear shifter and by highlighting a particular car and holding down the brake pedal would allow access to drivers such as Richard Petty, Adam Petty (who died prior to the game's release), and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Development

NASCAR Arcade was developed by Sega Rosso, formerly Sega's R&D #12 division. Production of a NASCAR-based game was suggested by the game's producer, Kenji Arai, despite concerns that NASCAR was not well known in Japan (although NASCAR had previously hosted exhibition races at Suzuka Circuit and Twin Ring Motegi). At the time of its development, the license to create console games based on NASCAR belonged to Electronic Arts (EA), who were not releasing games on Sega's home console system, the Dreamcast. EA granted permission to Sega to develop NASCAR Arcade as a coin-op only game.

The game runs on the Sega Hikaru arcade system board. According to Anoop Gantayat of IGN, he felt the game's original name of NASCAR Rubbin' Racing would sound odd to native English speakers and needed to change when the game came to North America. Official Dreamcast Magazine called the game's original title "very, very strange". The game was released as NASCAR Arcade in Japan.